Search

Objective: Little is known about the origin and associated factors of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) in the young population, although they might be closely related to the psychophysiological states produced by stress exposure, such as anxiety and depression. In this regard, resilience has been related to a reduction in these negative states, as well as to more adaptive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning. We aimed to investigate the importance of depression, anxiety, and HPA axis activity in SMCs in the young population. We also analysed the relationship between resilience and SMCs through the mediation of depression, anxiety, and the cortisol awakening response (CAR)., Design: To do so, we measured SMCs, depression and anxiety states, resilience, and the CAR in 77 healthy young people., Results: Both depression and anxiety were associated with SMCs. In addition, greater resilience was related to fewer SMCs through depression and anxiety. However, the CAR was not related to SMCs, and it did not mediate the relationship between resilience and SMCs., Conclusion: These results suggest that negative affective states have greater importance in SMCs than HPA functioning in this age group, and they also highlight the importance of resilience in the psychological adjustment to stressful situations.

Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) are common among older people, but they also appear in young adults. Hence, SMCs deserve attention in the different periods of life. SMCs have been related to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning, and negative traits also seem to be related to SMCs, whereas protective traits have been hardly studied. We aimed to study the predictive value of anxiety and positivity in SMCs and explore whether they moderated the relationship between the HPA axis and SMCs in different age periods. Trait anxiety, positivity, and cortisol were measured in 75 healthy young adults (aged 18 to 35 years old; Study 1) and 73 older adults (aged 55 to 75 years old; Study 2). In both studies, anxiety was related to SMCs in the entire sample, whereas positivity was only related to SMCs in younger subjects and older women. Differences were found between the young and older groups in the relationship between the HPA axis and SMCs, given that it was moderated by psychological traits in younger adults and only by age in older adults (when we compared those aged 55 to 64 vs 65 to 75). These findings emphasize the different nature of SMCs in different age periods of the lifespan. • Anxiety is related to SMCs in both young and older adults. • Positivity is only related to SMCs in younger subjects and older women. • There are differences between young and older adults in the relationship between the HPA axis and SMCs. • The relationship between HPA axis and SMCs is moderated by psychological traits in younger adults and by age in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]